#146 dur → hard, harsh

Quick Summary

The Latin root dur means “hard.” This Latin root is the word origin of a good number of English vocabulary words, including endure, during, and duration. The root dur is easily recalled via the word endure, for if you can endure a trial, you are “hard” enough to withstand its challenges.

Ingredient Memlet: durable

Ingredient Memlet: obdurate

Someone who is obdurate is “thoroughly hard or harsh” when it comes to not changing his behavior or feelings, even if they are wrong.

May Dur Be Hard and Durable

The Latin root dur means “hard.” No longer will you have to endure a lack of knowledge with words containing dur—they will no longer be “hard” to understand!

Can you endure temperatures of over 110 degrees or of those well below freezing? If you can endure such extremes of climate, you are sufficiently “hardened” against them. If you find such challenging temperatures unendurable, you are not “hard” enough to withstand them, and so probably go inside to cool off or warm up!

Have you ever run in a one-hundred mile race? Your physical endurance or “hardness” against such a grueling event is then pretty incredible. Your musculoskeletal system’s durability or “hardness” is also pretty amazing to be able to hold up for that long. You would also need some pretty durable shoes that are “hard” enough to last the full race—flip-flops wouldn’t quite do! The duration, that is, how long a period of time is “hard” enough to continue in existence, of a race that is one-hundred miles is between 24 and 48 hours for most runners to complete! During that time, that is, while that time “endures” or is “hard,” you will need to be obdurate or thoroughly “hard” or very stubborn so as not to give up, for the duress or “hard” times you will be under will be significant. If all your training made you sufficiently indurated or “hardened” against these extreme trials, your status as a ultramarathoner will be assured.

Now that the duration of this podcast has elapsed, during which time you have learned all about the root dur, it will now endure in your memory forever!